Court Orders Deployment of King Ceaser University Medical Students For Internship

The High Court in Kampala has set aside the decision by the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council not to forward the names of more than 100 graduate students of King Ceaser University Medical Students to the Ministry of Health for internship deployment.  

In his  November 30th 2023 decision, the High Court Judge Musa Ssekaana issued an order of mandamus (an immediate order ) compelling the Council to forward the names of the applicants and other medical graduates from King Ceaser University for National Medical Internship Programme.

Justice Ssekaana also declared that the applicants and all medical graduates from King Ceaser University who completed Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery have a right to be deployed for internship and the decision not to deploy them was illegal.  

Two students, Brian Munyambabazi and Ronald Masereka sued the Attorney General and the Uganda Medical and Dental Council seeking a declaration that the decision to exclude them and 136 other graduates from King Ceasor University in the internship placement was unfair, illegal, unlawful, biased, unreasonable, unenforceable, irrational, null and void and of no legal effect.

Records show that although the Attorney General has been exonerated for having been sued wrongly, on July 27th 2023 the Ministry of Health issued a press release wherein it communicated that it had received clearance to deploy Medical Interns to 58 internship centers across the country. 

The  Ministry released a deployment list for the interns under revised terms as guided by the government indicating that they were to deploy 1,901 Medical interns within the available budget of a net monthly allowance of UGX 1,000,000 per intern to facilitate accommodation and feeding and that all interns were expected to report to their various training centers by August 3rd, 2023.

  A day later, the Ministry forwarded the list of Medical Interns to the internship placement centers. The list had medical graduates from all Universities teaching Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBCh.B) in Uganda and outside Uganda except for medical graduates from King Ceasor University.

The applicants said they studied their course for five years and graduated and as such, in refusing to deploy them and their classmates it was irrational, unreasonable, and unfair more so, since there was no reason given for failure to deploy them.

Assistant Prof Joel Okullo, the Chairperson of Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioner’s Council opposed the case saying the NCHE, together with the Council in the exercise of its statutory duty unanimously agreed that the graduates from King Ceasor University of the MBChB program could not be forwarded for the pre-registration. 

This he said was after two inspections including one done by the 3rd Joint East African Community Medical and Dental Practitioners Councils/Boards Inspection team conducted found that it did not meet the minimum standards for training medical students registrable in the East African Community.

They said they had the duty of safeguarding society against ill-trained, unqualified, and inexperienced medical practitioners.  

However, the students insisted that their University’s medical school was accredited by National Council for Higher Education to teach Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and this accreditation has never been withdrawn.

Court heard that the University has all the facilities to teach the course and during the 3rd, 4th and 5th years ,the students do clinicals in Mulago Hospital, Kiruddu Hospital and Kawempe Hospital together with students from Makerere University. 

Further, it was noted that  the students are taught by the same staff at these hospitals and some of the Medical Council staff have taught the students of King Ceasor University throughout this period of five years.

In his decision, justice Ssekaana has ruled that actions of the medical Council in refusing to recognize medical graduates of King Ceasor University would amount to usurping the powers of the National Council for Higher Education which is mandated to accredit Universities to teach medical courses.  

He said the exercise of the power conferred under the Medical and Dental Practitioner’s Council should not be interpreted to render another statutory body useless or subservient to its authority. 

This is because the Judge has been satisfied that the University is licensed by the NCHE to teach the profession in question and there is no way how their successful graduates cannot be deployed for internship.

  “The 1st respondent/Medical Council pursued a purpose outside the four corners and took in irrelevant considerations and they have failed to set out reasons for the decision of denying the applicants and other graduates of King Ceasor University. The absence of reasons may infer that the 1st respondent pursued a purpose that is different from the one that is empowered under the law”, said Ssekaana.    

As such, he has ruled that the decision not to forward the applicant’s names and those of other graduates of King Ceasor University was illegal.

A highly placed official from King Ceasor University who preferred not to be quoted because of not being authorized to speak on behalf of the University told Uganda Radio Network that although other students from different institutions have been on internship already for months, they have no option right now but to compile a list and submit it to the Council for deployment as ordered by court.